THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 31 



low. In the fall the plumage is tipped with brown. The 

 female is of a duller cast than the male. 



The nest is composed of a few twigs and grasses in a 

 hollow tree, decayed knothole, abandoned woodpecker hole, 

 or a bird house. Mating begins in March and the male is 

 one of the most jealous and attentive of lovers; when he 

 finds a particularly juicy insect or other delicious morsel he 

 almost invariably carries it to his mistress and he resents 

 the approach of another male in the most warlike man- 

 ner. The eggs are from four to six in number, of a bluish 

 and rarely of a clear white color, four-fifths by three-fifths 

 of an inch in size. There are generally two or three broods 

 in a season. 



The birds inhabit the whole of the eastern part of the 

 United States, being the first to arrive in the spring and 

 apparently leaving their summer homes with regret, for 

 they postpone their southward flight until the trees and 

 bushes are bare. Some remain regularly throughout the 

 winter. During the past few years the Bluebird has 

 rapidly decreased in number throughout its range and un- 

 less it again increases may soon be ranked as a rare bird. 



Their call note is tur-wee, tur-wee. The song is a plain- 

 tive and oft -repeated warble, likened by Burroughs to 

 purity, purity, and by Mabel Osgood Wright to Dear, 

 dear, think of it ! Think of it ! 



Their food consists principally of large beetles and of such 

 insects as they gather out of dead and decaying trees. 



Bluejay. Length, eleven and three-quarters inches; 

 bill, one inch; head, crested, light blue or purple; back, 

 lead blue; breast, bluish white with black crescent; belly, 

 white; sides, dirty white, stained with purple; tail, blue, 

 with black bars and white tips; upper wing, blue; under 

 wing, barred with black and tipped with white; legs and 

 feet, black. 



The nest is veiy large and is built of very closely woven 

 roots; it is located in a tree crotch, generally between fif- 



